As Ohio’s students and teachers gear up for spring break, they could come back to a reality check—fewer breaks and more time spent on learning—in the future.
Republican lawmakers in the Ohio House have introduced legislation that would add 53 hours of instruction, increasing from the current 1,001 to 1054 hours for students in grades 7-12.
The bill is sponsored by Reps. Adam Bird, R-New Richmond, and Josh Williams, R-Sylvania. Those lawmakers want to return the school calendar to 160 days of instruction. The 1,054 would also be below Kentucky’s 1,062 hours, Michigan’s 1,098 and Texas’ 1,260, The Center Square reports.
Bird, a former teacher, principal, and superintendent, believes more instructional time would benefit students and improve test scores and overall academics.
“The more time students spend in meaningful learning, the better they are going to perform academically, the better they are going to perform socially, and the more they are going to bring those soft skills to employment,” Bird said during a press conference according to News 5 Cleveland. “One-thousand-fifty-four does not get us back to where we were, but this helps stop the decline.”
In Ohio, traditional school districts, joint vocational school districts, and chartered nonpublic schools must comply with minimum hours of instruction instead of a minimum number of school days each year. As state law says, a school day is five hours; this would add more than 10 additional days, the Statehouse News Bureau reports.
In 2014, K-12 students spent 180 days in class but now spend 160 days. Bird added schools have added more breaks, cutting into time in the classroom.
“I do believe there are some schools that have decided to have a longer spring break, they have added a fall break and they have added days off in the middle of the week, three-day weekends. I’m not saying it’s happening all over the state of Ohio, but it’s happening,” Bird said in this FOX 8 News report.
According to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, those minimum hours include:
- 455 hours for students in half-day kindergarten
- 910 hours for students in full-day kindergarten through grade 6; and
- 1,001 hours for students in grades 7-12.
- 910 hours for students enrolled in traditional school district online schools.
Schools can count up to two days for parent-teacher conferences, two days for professional meetings of teachers, and morning and afternoon recess of no more than 15 minutes for students in grades K-6 as part of the minimum hours, as outlined on the Ohio Department of Education website.
Lunch periods and extracurricular activities do not count as “open for instruction” time, but supervised activities such as assemblies, approved education options, and co-curricular activities during the scheduled school day are eligible hours.
Supporters of the legislation say various factors have cut into instructional time, including more teacher work days, longer breaks, field trips and other things—like the recently passed law that allows for religious release time during the school day.
That includes religious instruction, like the Ohio-based Bible education program Lifewise, which has GOP lawmakers’ support. In April, a new law takes effect that requires all public school districts to create a policy allowing students to go off-campus during the school day for religious education, the Statehouse News Bureau reports.
“We continue to move down this path of allowing additional release time, not only for religion but 4-H experience and for things that are valid,” Bird said. “…I think parents will love this bill. Parents understand that time at school is imperative to getting the best education possible.”
The bill offers school districts flexibility to determine how to increase instructional hours. Williams said that Ohio is lagging behind neighboring states, as well as across the nation and the world, regarding educational outcomes.
“We’re not going to tell school districts how to comply,” Williams said during the press conference. “Schools could extend the school day a little, one less field trip, one less professional development day. We don’t have to add weeks, months at the end of the school year where we would add more costs.”
The intent of the bill is to improve educational outcomes and eliminate policies put in place during the pandemic. For example, online day plans are an alternative to making up hours due to school closure under several circumstances, including disease epidemics and inclement weather.
The lawmakers don’t expect the legislation to be in place for the 2025-26 school year. They have an amendment ready to address any potential conflicts with current collective bargaining agreements.
